Aug-. 8, 1901. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



503 



colony, but before I could do it the Italians were all dead. 

 I immediately sent South and got two queens, thinking that, 

 as I had the colony divided, and there were such a lot of 

 bees, it would be a g-ood time to Italianize them. I success- 

 fully introduced both queens, but those two colonies have 

 just dwindled down to nothing. Yellow bees would hatch 

 out and I would find them crawling around outside of the 

 hives. One queen turned up missing. The other deserted 

 her hive with a handful of bees. Now, where did I make 

 a mistake ? and will those combs do to give to other colo- 

 nies ? Do bees make a practice of going into diiferent 

 hives in winter ? Illinois. 



Answer. — To be entirely candid, I don't know enough 

 to say just what mistake you made, or whether indeed you 

 made any. Possibly a fuller knowledge of particulars 

 might help in the diagnosis; possibly not. It is quite 

 likely that the season had something to do with it, espe- 

 cially if you operated somewhat early, for the spring was 

 unusually bad. It happens only too frequently that bees 

 desert their hive and enter another, especially in a bad 

 spring when there is more or less spring dwindling. It 

 will be all right to give the combs to other colonies. 



Swarming— Wintering Bees. 



1. I started last spring with three colonies of bees, one 

 of which has sent off two nice swarms, another cast one, 

 and the bees issued from the third hive, and returned to the 

 hive without clustering. In how many days thereafter may 

 I expect them to issue again ? 



2. I have a room in the southeast corner of my house, 

 with one window on the east side, and a door opening into 

 a small, warm hall. Would it make a suitable place in 

 which to winter my bees ? If so, ought the window to be 

 darkened entirely, and should a curtain or blanket be hung 

 at the door, as it does not fit very tight ? There is no way 

 of warming the room, except by opening the door into the 

 hall, but nothing ever freezes in it unless in the very cold- 

 est weather. New York. 



Answers. — 1. Hard to tell. It depends altogether on 

 conditions. If the old queen was in the hive, they may 

 come out the next day or so, or they may not issue again 

 till a young queen is matured eight or ten days later. It is 

 possible that the old queen was gone, and the swarm issued 

 with a young queen, returning because the young queen 

 could not fly, or for some other reason ; in which case they 

 may come out any time within two or more days, when 

 another young queen is matured. It is also possible that a 

 young queen was present and that the swarm was merely 

 something like an escort for the young queen when she 

 took her wedding-trip, and no further swarming will take 

 place. So the full answer is that there may be no further 

 issue, and that there may be one on any one of the follow- 

 ing sixteen days. 



Building Up Colonies for Winter— Buying Bees. 



1. I have an apiary of six colonies. I purchased three 

 large swarms two weeks ago, for $3.00. and hived them in 

 Hubbard hives, and I think they have stored SO pounds of 

 honey each. I have three others that are not doing so 

 well ; they are weak in numbers. How can I build them up 

 for winter ? I take the American Bee Journal and think it 

 is a great help ; I also have Prof. Cook's " Bee-Keepers' 

 Ouide." I am very new in the business, and need all the 

 help I can get. 



2. I can purchase colonies of black bees at $1.00 each, or 

 can purchase this year's swarms in good, standard hives at 

 $3.00 each. Which would be better to purchase, the early 

 swarms at S3. 00, or wait till next season and get them at 

 Sl.OO ? I want to go into the business heavy next season. 



Virginia. 

 Answers. — So many things are to be taken into 

 account, that it would almost take a book to tell all the 

 diff^erent things it is possible might be done in order that 

 your weak colonies have the very best chance to build up 

 strong for winter. As the most valuable piece of advice in 

 the case, I should say the very first thing is to study care- 

 fully your text-book. Then you will be competent to judge 

 what is the best thing to do much better than one who has 

 no opportunity to see the bees. It is quite possible tliat 

 nothing need be done but to let the bees alone; and that 

 they will of themselves build up^strong for winter. See 



that each has a good laying queen. If you find four to six 

 of the brood-combs mostly tilled with worker-comb, it is 

 likely no interference is needed. If you find everything 

 not all right in this respect, it may be that something is 

 wrong with the queen, and that she should be replaced. 



2. If I understand you rightly, you can get colonies in 

 hives now for S3. 00, and next year you can get the swarms 

 when they issue, without any hives, for SlOO each. It is 

 hard tc^ tell which would be best. Possibly a compromise 

 might be a good thing, getting half the number now. and 

 filling out the quota with next year's swanns. 



Pays to Get Fresh Blood— Bee Veils and Gloves. 



1. I have a few swarms of bees, the most of which I 

 gave Italian queens, which I purchased from an Iowa 

 breeder last year, because it was not far to mail them, and 

 I am well pleased with them, they having built up very 

 strong colonies of good workers. I intend to buy some 

 more queens this year, and the question is. Shall I buy 

 from the same place, or from somewhere else, so as to get 

 new blood in my apiary ? What would be your advice ? 



2. I have a veil I made myself that I like the best of 

 any I have seen. I first take a straw hat with medium rim, 

 then I get a piece of common window-screen about eight 

 inches wide and long enough to go around the rim of the 

 hat, and sew the ends together ; then sew a piece of cloth 

 over the top a little loose, so the crown of the hat will set 

 up in the cloth ; then sew a piece of mosquito net or cheese- 

 cloth on the bottom about 14 inches wide ; slip the hat 

 inside, and put it on and button the coat or vest over the 

 bottom, and it is bee-proof, and will not blow against the 

 face nor tear easily. I find I can see better through it than 

 almost anything else. For gloves I take a pair of soft, 

 cheap leather gloves, and sew on some long wrists made of 

 thick cloth that will come nearly to the elbows. With this 

 and my bicycle guards on my pants' legs, I can handle bees 

 with as little fear as if they were chickens. 



Minnesota. 



Answers.— 1. Other things being equal, there will be 

 some advantage in getting in fresh blood. 



2. If you make much use of a veil you may injure your 

 eyesight by looking through wire-cloth. If I remember 

 correctly, one of the veterans had a very bad time with his 

 eyes years ago in that very way. It is better to have a veil 

 that does not require either coat or vest, for bee-keeping is 

 too hot work a good part of the time to wear either. 



i ^ Biographical. ^ I 



MR. FRIE DEIWANN GREINER. 



On the first page of this number appears the portrait of 

 Friedemann Greiner, one of the American Bee Journal's 

 best contributors. 



His love for insects and insect life manifested itself 

 early in his younger days. As a boy of six or seven he 

 well remembers spending hours and hours at the old bee- 

 shed of his grandpa's, watching the bees go in and out of 

 the straw-skeps ; and what pleasure it afforded him ! The 

 school-lessons, and he regrets to say hours, were clean for- 

 gotten many a time. Too often did he have to hear the 

 chiding words from the teacher when his home study had 

 been neglected: " Well, Greiner had to take his grand- 

 father's bees out to pasture ; couldn't attend to his study." 



Mr. Greiner was not all concentrated in bees, but other 

 insects shared likewise. His collections of butterflies, bugs 

 and beetles aroused the envy of his schoolmates. Many 

 days did he spend in the search of rare caterpillars, which, 

 when captured, were fed daily with such food — leaves, 

 plants, etc. — as comprised their accustomed food. When 

 finally the caterpillar had gotten its growth, spun its 

 cocoon, it was with much anxiety that the forthcoming of 

 the butterfly or moth was awaited. When this happy 

 moment did come, the specimen vras treated to ether, thus 

 killed, and then prepared for the collection. He always 

 knew where to find rare specimens of water-beetles, etc. 



When his grandfather died, the bees went into other 

 hands, and for years not much thought was given them. 



